Red shirt leader warns activists against insulting Monarchy

Covid-19 cases in the US passed the 1 million mark in the past 24 hours, with US President Donald Trump claiming that the high number are “because of better testing”. The outbreak has left tens of millions unemployed in the US and nearly 60,000 dead, by far the highest number of confirmed fatalities – well over a quarter of the global death toll of 218,000+.

At the same time hard-hit countries across Europe, and some south east Asia countries, are now looking towards easing lockdowns and lifting some restriction.

Meanwhile, facemasks are mandatory in all German shops from today. New cases rose there for the first time in 3 days as the government weighs removing more curbs on public life. Face coverings were already compulsory on buses, trains and trams.

“We all need to take care that we don’t end up with more infections.”

Germany is being closely watched around the world as data on infection rates shows mixed results.

France plans to begin reopening shops in May, while Spain is preparing for a “new normal” as Europe’s hardest-hit nation gradually eases restrictions over the next 8 weeks.

French PM Edouard Phillipe warns that even a gradual return to everyday economic activity is “risky,” despite the downward trend in virus deaths. Shops, markets and selected schools will reopen next month in France, with masks required on public transport and work-from-home orders in place for several more weeks.

Italy, Spain and France have been the worst affected European countries, each with more than 23,000 deaths. Sweden, which has taken a bold, yet laissez faire approach to the crisis and tried to keep business and some schools open, has nearly reached 20,000 cases.

Spanish authorities say restrictions would be slowly lifted over the next two months, while Italians will be able to exercise outdoors and visit relatives from next week, but hugs and handshakes will not be allowed (expect to see the Thai wai becoming a popular greeting around the world).

Excitement over a move toward “normality” is tempered in many places by fear of new outbreaks or a second wave, and by growing evidence of the economic devastation wreaked by the pandemic. Forecasts warn of the worst global recession in a century, with consumer demand gutted, spending power greatly reduced and travel and tourism in ruins.

British Airways is the latest airline to sound the alarm, saying it may have to cut its workforce by a third. And European plane manufacturer Airbus is foreshadowing mass job cuts due to the plunge in demand for new aircraft.

In Lebanon there is more urgent evidence of economic crisis, with protesters confronting soldiers in defiance of a nationwide lockdown.

“I came down to raise my voice against hunger, poverty and rising prices,” 41 year old Khaled, told AFP, saying he lost his job and couldn’t support his 3 children.

More than 3 million people worldwide are known to have caught the respiratory disease that first emerged in China in late December, but the actual figure is thought to be much higher as many countries only test the most serious cases.

China’s outbreak appears to be under control with no new deaths reported for 13 straight days and confirmed fatalities around 4,600, although much doubt has been cast on whether the numbers are accurate and some world leaders are blaming ‘China’ for the outbreak as a means of deflecting criticism of their delayed response to the pandemic.

Scientists are scrambling to develop better treatments and a vaccine for the disease, with myriad studies underway, including one by the US Department of Homeland Security into how ultraviolet radiation could be used as a treatment for the virus. The investigation was prompted by the US President’s remarks at a briefing last Friday about untested treatments that he believed deserved further experimentation.

While that research is yet published, and largely dismissed by scientists, Indonesians are soaking up rays like never before in the hope that the country’s plentiful tropical sunshine will fend off the disease. Accordiing to one housewife in Indonesia’s cultural capital Yogyakarta…

“I always avoided the sun before because I didn’t want to get tanned. But I’m hoping this will strengthen my immune system.”

SOURCES: Thai PBS World | Bloomberg

Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.

Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.

Reports from Thai Airways International say that due to the spread of the Covid-19 disease the national airline is obligated to announce the cancellation of international flights. In order to meet the traveling needs of decreasing passengers, the airline have announced cancelled flights to and from 12 countries, totalling 32 flights.

These flights include…

1. Nepal, Kathmandu, 2 flights, TG 319 and TG 320, cancellation of flights from today until the end of March. As for April – October, flights only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

2. Pakistan, Karachi, 4 flights, TG 341 and TG 342, cancellation on March 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30 and April 1 – May 23.

Islamabad, 2 flights, TG 349 and TG 350, cancellation from April 1 – 25, while May 30 – October 24 flights will fly only on Saturday.

3. Singapore, 4 flights, TG401 and TG 402. Cancellation from today to October 24. TG 403 and TG 404 flights canceled March 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31 and during April 1- to October 24 flights only on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

4. Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, 4 flights, TG 550 and TG 551, cancellation on March 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31 and form April 1 – October 2.

Hanoi, 2 flights, TG 560 and TG 561. cancellation on March 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28, 30, 31 and April 1 – October 24.

5. Australia, Melbourne, 2 flights, TG 461, cancellation on March 28, 29, 30, 31 and April 1 – October 24 and flight TG 462 canceled March 29, 30, 31 and April 1 – October 24.

6. Germany, Frankfurt, 2 flights, TG 922 and TG 923. Cancellation on May 2, 3 ,4 – June 24.

7. France, Paris, 4 flights, TG 930 and TG 931, cancellation on April 6, 8, 15, 22, 28, May 13, 15, 22, 27, 29 and June 03, 05, 10, 12, 17, 19. flights TG932 and TG933 canceled on April 23, 25, 27, 30.

8. Belgium, Brussels, 2 flights, TG 934 and TG 935, cancellation on May 14, 18 and June 05, 11.

9. Austria, Vienna, 2 flights, TG 936 and TG 937, canceled on March 24, 26, 29, 31 And April 7, 9, 11, 23, 26. During May 1 – June 30, flights only on Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.

10. Switzerland Zurich, 2 flights TG 970 and TG 971 cancellation on March 24 and June 3, 10, 15, 17, 24.

11. Russia, Moscow, two flights, TG 974 and TG 975, cancellation on April 11, 16, 23, 29 and May 6, 13, 16, 18, 21.

12. Norway, Oslo, 2 flights, TG 954 and TG 955, cancellation on May 10, 17, 24, 31 and June 7.

SOURCE: Khao Sod

Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.

Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.

The cases of coronavirus in China continue to fall as Italy locks down entire cities to contain the virus. New York officials have announced a state of emergency. Around the world, the virus has now infected 95 countries. There is a total of 110,066 cases, 3,830 related deaths and 62,278 total recoveries.

The epidemic is moving west as new cases in China drop dramatically. Meanwhile Italy is imposing an unprecedented peacetime lockdown which directly affects 16 million people as new cases and deaths skyrocketed over the weekend. Italy’s cases have nearly tripled from about 2,500 infections just last Wednesday to more than 7,300 yesterday, with deaths rising to more than 366.

In the Lombardy region of northern Italy, which has been locked down, schools, conferences, markets, tourist attractions, church congregations, and even funerals, are banned. People are now required by law to keep a distance of one metre from one another.

In the US cases have also risen to 538 with 22 deaths recorded, 3 in the past 24 hours. Californians remain on edge as a cruise ship starts disembarking today. The cruise ship, the Grand Princess, with nearly 3,000 stranded passengers, prepares to dock today in the Port of Oakland in San Francisco Bay.

The local Department of Health and Human Services say the Grand Princess docks today and outlined plans for the nearly 3,000 people aboard the ship, 1,000 of them local Californians. They stressed that no one on board would be released immediately to the general public.

“All of those passengers will be quarantined for 14 days at military installations.”

Leading health officials warn that the US is now entering a new stage in dealing with Covid-19 coronavirus, saying that containment is no longer possible. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during the first two years of the Trump administration says “we’re past the point of containment.”

“We have to implement broad mitigation strategies. The next two weeks are really going to change the complexion in this country. We’ll get through this, but it’s going to be a hard period. We’re looking at two months, probably, of difficulty.”

The World Health Organisation now estimates the death rate from Covid-19 at 3.4%, shocking experts following the progress and statistics of the current outbreak.

Speaking at a media briefing, the World Health Organisation’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, reported that the death rate was far higher than that of the seasonal flu, which kills about 0.1% of those infected.

But he clarified that the death rate is likely to change further as more cases are confirmed, though experts predict that the percentage of deaths will decrease in the longer term since milder cases of COVID-19 may be going undiagnosed.

But he warned that Covid-19 caused a “more severe disease” than the seasonal flu and explained that “while people around the world may have built up an immunity to the flu over time, the newness of the Covid-19 meant no one yet had immunity and more people were susceptible to infection.”

“A patient’s risk of dying from Covid-19 varies based on several factors, including where they are treated, their age, and any preexisting health conditions.”

In other coronavirus news…

• In China, 10 people have died and dozens are still trapped after a hotel used as a quarantine building collapsed. The owner of the building is under police custody.

• New York officials declared a “state of emergency”, as the state’s caseload rose to 105 yesterday from 89 on Saturday. Oregon, with just 14 cases, also followed suit.

• In Iran, where dozens of senior officials are sick, a senior adviser to the supreme leader and a member of Parliament died after contracting the virus. State media reported that all flights to Europe would be suspended indefinitely.

• Saudi Arabia has cut off access to Shiite Muslim towns and villages in the east of the kingdom, cordoning off an area in Qatif Governorate where all 11 of the country’s confirmed coronavirus cases have been identified. And local Saudi media reported that the country would temporarily close down all educational institutions and block travel to and from a number of countries in the region. The kingdom had already suspended pilgrimages to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

• The health minister in France, one of Europe’s bigger trouble spots with 1,209 cases, has announced a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people.

• Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel, with 39 cases (no recorded deaths yet), is considering requiring all Israelis and foreign nationals arriving from abroad to go into a 14 day self-quarantine.

Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.

Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.